WTO General Council Agrees To 2-Year Extension For TRIPS Health Amendment Acceptance 30/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Trade Organization General Council today agreed to a two-year extension for countries to adopt an amendment to the agency’s intellectual property agreement intended to help small economies get affordable medical products. But a decision on non-violation complaints will be left to the December WTO ministerial in Buenos Aires.
Expert Panel Recommends That The WHO Move Forward On Transparency And Delinkage 28/11/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On Monday, 27 November, the WHO published the recommendations of the overall programme review of the global strategy and plan of action on public, health innovation and intellectual property (EB142/14). The expert panel provided 33 recommendations which included 17 forward looking”high-priority actions” including on transparency and delinkage, writes Thiru Balasubramaniam.
WIPO Development And IP Committee This Week: Agenda Includes Flexibilities, Tech Transfer, SDGs, Studies 27/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Following a session in May hailed as the most positive in years, the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property reconvenes this week. Among items to be discussed are a revised proposal by the African Group to convene a biennial international conference on IP and development, how to deal with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and recommendations of an independent review of the implementation of the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda Recommendations.
Access To Affordable Healthcare: A Global Wake-Up Call Fosters Coalition Of The Like-Minded 27/11/2017 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW DELHI — Few topics in the global health agenda are as contentious as access to affordable medicines and medical care, and expectedly, divergent views permeated the discussions at a high-level conference in New Delhi, India last week. But if there is one thing that the three-day meet made amply clear, it was this: access to affordable healthcare has emerged as a global problem, and an emerging coalition of the like-minded, cutting across the developed and developing countries, is determined to have their voices heard in international policy circles on the issue.
‘The WHO Does Not Have A Board’: New WHO Director Pushes To Make Agency More Efficient 24/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Tedros) admonished member states at the close of this week’s special session of the WHO Executive Board charged with examining the agency’s draft work programme for 2019-2023. A trust deficit among member states leads to the multiplication of national statements, impeding efficiency, he said. Meanwhile, a number of countries called for affordable and accessible medicines, and help to manufacture generic medicines locally, while the United States pushed the role of the private sector.
WIPO GREEN Seeks Consultants For Tech Deals In Asia-Pacific 20/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization program on intellectual property and environmental technology is looking for consultants to catalyze green tech transactions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Rise Of Global Value Chains Propels Intangible Capital Revenues, WIPO Report Says 20/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A World Intellectual Property Organization report released today shows the growing global importance of intangible capital and its share in the value of end products. The report does not however provide a geographical repartition of this value, nor who actually owns the returns on intangible capital. Three case studies shed light on different production areas: coffee, smart phones, and solar panels.
Studies Presented At WIPO To Better Understand Limitations To Copyright 17/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With no consensus on conducting normative work at the World Intellectual Property Organization on the limitations to copyright for certain actors such as persons with disabilities, educational institutions, and museums, the committee on copyright had agreed on several studies so the issues are better understood. This week, several of those studies were presented to the committee and shed some further light on the issues.
Freedom Of Expression – Paper Looks At ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ In Latin American Context 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments It’s hard to escape the watchful eye of the internet – it will follow you through life. But if something put on the internet about you is wrong, misrepresents you or even endangers you, should you have a right to remove it from the internet? A new paper from the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, DC […]
Global Fund Chooses Former UK Banker Peter Sands As New Director 14/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today selected Peter Sands, a former bank CEO who is involved in health projects at the World Bank and elsewhere, as its next executive director.